The beef trade remains under pressure this week, with factories dropping quotes by another 10c in some factories on Monday morning.

Some factories are trying to buy bullocks at €6.30/kg, but, as the official Department of Agriculture quoted figures in the Irish Farmers Journal shows, paid prices are not in line with quoted prices.

The official prices reported to the Department by factories for the last seven weeks are outlined in Table 1 below.

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The average ABG for the week ended 19 April 2026 was 697.4c/kg compared with the ABG for the week ending 17 May 2026, one month later, which came in at 691.9c/kg. This represented a drop of 5.5c/kg during that four-week period.

This is in contrast with base quotes during that period falling by 20c/kg and even up to 30c/kg in some cases. This would indicate that while factories have been quick to drop quotes, what they are actually paying out hasn’t been dropping as quickly.

The other factor is that factories are currently working their way through a lot of contracted cattle from bigger finishers and these are contracted at a higher price to those of smaller finishers working off weekly quotes.

What the data shows is that factories are willing to pay more than quoted prices, so farmers should bargain hard when it comes to selling.

This week’s base quotes range from €6.30/kg to €6.40/kg for bullocks, with heifers working off a base quote range of €6.40/kg to €6.50/kg.

Cows

R grading cows are being priced at €6.20/kg, with more going to those with numbers. U grading cows are generally now being bought at €6.30/kg to €6.40/kg, with higher prices going to regular cow sellers and specialist feeders.

O grading cows are being bought for around €6.00/kg. P+3 cows are coming in at €5.80/kg to €5.90/kg, with some factories quoting lower for very light cows.

Bulls

R grading bulls are coming in at €6.50/kg to €6.60/kg, with U grading bulls being quoted at €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg. O grading bulls are working off an all-in price of €6.30/kg to €6.50/kg, while P grading bulls are being quoted at €6.20/kg to €6.40/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

Over-age bulls are generally working off a price of €6.30/kg to €6.50/kg, depending on grades and flesh cover. Under-16-month bulls are working off a €6.30/kg to €6.50/kg base price on the grid.